Diary Mar - Jun 2014

Sunday 30th April 2014 Cassaca, Eira dos Vales, Enxudro, Portugal

Everything here is fine! The journey by coach was OK, and conveniently dropped us at Serra da Moita, which is about a half an hour taxi ride to the quinta. Paris was very busy, and the bus station is a bit grim. I enjoyed listening to an arabic radio station, and they have lots of graffiti, some very good. The outskirts of the city are not attractive, we went by the outer ring road and there are a lot of tunnels and concrete underpasses. They also have small shanty towns by the sides of the roads.Once leaving England and Paris, you hit the deep calm of the south of Europe, and the further you go, the calmer it seems to get. The mountains in northern Spain have lots of lush grazing and snow capped peaks. I am still astonished to see the desertification in central spain, which I think has a large part to do with their agriculture, and the fact that they have chopped all the trees down. They were irrigating the land now, even though the rivers were full. Further on towards Portugal, there is mixed grazing with olives and cattle and sheep underneath, with water collected in ponds, a much more attractive landscape. Once in Portugal, the mountains start. We managed to sleep on and off all day and night. We stopped in Celorico da Beira and had a nice lunch of Portuguese soup. Sr Bruno (the taxi driver) was waiting when we got to Serra da Moita, and took us straight to the quinta.All is fine at the quinta, much more comfortable and organised. We cooked a big pasta when we arrived, and had beer and red wine. Saturday morning there was a clear blue sky and we cooked the first meal using food from the garden and tidied upstairs, and had a rest after lunch in the Portuguese manner, did a bit of sunbathing, and in the afternoon put up the solar pannel.Today the wether has turned again, and I am very glad we are much more orgaised this time. We have managed to spin the washing, and put it to dry in Cortelha. We have moved the generator down there as it is very noisy, and we have charged up all the batteries, phones and computers. The solar electrics have been a bit neglected as I have not been here to sort things out, and I think the regulator has shorted out, so we are now using the back up regulator, and I will try and see if I can work out what is wrong with the other one (hopefully just a fuse). We are taking our time to work out how to spend the time to get the most productive things done. The wild boar have been rooting around Cortelha last night, so I suspect we will see them at some point before we leave. I love the outdoors, and all the exercise, it's like going to the gym all day long, up and down the steps, bending, stretching, carrying things, a really good antidote to a desk job.

Tuesday 1st April 2014

The weather has turned foul, and today is stormy. The near horizontal mountain rain is finding its way into the house, and we have reached the conclusion that this will never go away completely, so we better get used to it really, water has a mind of it's own and pops up wherever, whenever. We have sat down and made a comprehensive list of things we plan to do (it is the list to end all lists as there is plenty of space left on the bottom!). We have also sat down and done a budget, as we need to keep a tight reign on the finances. Sr Mario called yesterday, and it was good to see him. We discussed what work he will do on the verandah. We also discussed our plans with him, and he was very helpful making suggestions about how to make up a lime and cement mortar for the cordwood we are going to use to do the bathroom. We will do this work ourselves. We have collected the compost toilet that was made by the carpenters in Casal de Sao Joao, and it looks really nice! It is currently in the cave room, so we don't have to go out in the foul rain to use it. There are a few pressing problems at the moment. Firstly the cave room door has warped, and will not shut properly. We have collected the parcel we sent from England, and in it is a circular saw, so we can take a centimeter off the bottom of the door, which will help, and I also brought a plane in my hand luggae, so we can hopefully unscrew the door, and sort thus out this afternoon. Another pressing problem is the marine battery has run down, and the solar pannel is not charging enough because of the rain, so we are both fed up with the lack of light. We can hopefully get the two extra pannels we sent from England up soon, but we need a break in the rain really to construct the new frame. So we are limping along with the generator charging the battery for the lights at the moment, and using the parrafin lamps (which smell) and torches. Also Mario has taken away the trapdoor that got warped when the rain came in last winter, and is due to replace it, so the cold air is coming up from the cave room, and making the house uncomfortable.Mario will cover the wall with xisto in the verandah, and construct a simple shower in the corner, as planned, and we have decided to stick to the original plan, and construct a bathroom using cordwood for the walls. We are going to get a quote for french windows for the wall of the verandah facing the mountain, and hopefully that wall will be completed with a wooden frame and glass pannels, with french windows. We plan to do part of the work ourselves, and get help with the rest. We want to put a cement sink in the verandah for washing clothes, and build a 'fonte' for fresh springwater we plan to pipe straight down from the mina. Fabio has lots of decorated tiles he has collected, so we plan to make this fonte pretty in the Portuguese style. We also have a teracotta sink from a friend in Brasil, so we would llike the carpenters to make a stand to mount it in the bathroom, Mario will leave the pipe to be connected for the drain, and we can discuss the water supply when he arrives. The compost toilet is fine, and will go in the bathroom where the pipe for a flush toilet hs been left. The shower will also be simple, in xisto stone, with a cold supply from the rainwater tank, but we will bring hot water from the kitchen for the shower and the wash basin. The floor in the bathroom will be wood, in the verandah we need to ask Sr Mario to lay a cement floor. We both very excited to get the verandah complete!

Wednesday 2nd April 2014

We constructed a large wooden frame for two more solar pannels, and lashed the pannels to the frame. The screws that came with the pannels, do not fit, and I am just surprised how a company can produce things to sell, and not even be bothered to check whether the screws fit! I begars belief really... We have painted the new frame with diesel and engine oil, and this time hopefully got the right diesel, because the other frame has a chocolate 'paint', whereas this one is all greasy with oil, which is what we wanted. They are up anyway, and electricity is much better, however we have a winter plan which involves connecting a 12v car alternator, with a bike gear and pedal mechanism and a plywood water wheel for the winter, however I haven't come up with a final design for this yet. We revised plans for the verandah, and now hope for windows in pre-made box frames, and a cordwood structure.

In the evening we had a party!

Thursday 3rd April 2014

As Fabio was sleeping in after the party, I went to the area under Sergio's tank, and dug a drainage channel down to the barroco (actually I dug out a channel Mario made last winter, as they get big plants that grow in them, including one that smells like horseradish). In the afternoon we went to Coja, to get some lovely fresh veg and fruit, and we also went for a coffee and a cake and checked e-mails. Portuguese people are happy and stylish, they enjoy their cafe and restaurant culture, and the bread shop for example, is also a place where they have a cafe. People have a coffee or a glass of wine in the sun, and also buy bread and cakes, there was jazz music playing. We do not get this in England, and we are the worse off for this. In the evening we sorted out the bedroom.

Friday 4th April 2014

Mario came to fit the trap door back in its place. It's a relief. We thought he was going to do more work, so we went to Arganil to get some things from there. We took sandwiches, which is something Portuguese people don't do. They all go indoors at lunchtime seriously to eat. We saw some posters advertising a club night in Arganil, and went to find the place. It is stunning! I remember it being discussed on Portuguese daytime TV, and watching this in England. It's a very large converted brick factory, which makes a space for any cultural event, conferance, parties, exhibitions, plays, and as this Saturady, a DJ club night. There is also a huge swimming pool, Olympic size, with no-one in it! It costs Eu 1.75 for all day use of the pool if you want it and the Turkish bath. We are pleased to find somewhere we can go to have a change from living in a sheep hut in the mountains. The downside of the building is the atrium is badly designed and mouldy.

We tried to light the fires when we got back, but there was no wind, and it was a disaster. In the middle of emptying the glowing contents of the salamander on the kitchen floor Sr Francisco turned up, so a bit of Portuguese practice for me, and Fabio had a chat. We could not get the gas fires working in the evening, so not good really.

Saturday 5th April 2014

Fabio went to Coja to get a gas pipe for the gas heater we sent over from England. It was a bit bent in the box, so I bent it back into shape and it looks fine now. They do not have the bottle size we need in Portugal, so we have bought a long length of pipe to keep the bottle in the corner of the room. Both fires are working safely, we have good natural ventilation anyway, but we will not leave fires unattended, or on overnight.

In the afternoon, we had a rest, and went for a walk in the woods. I have to say they are enchanted, untouched. We found a very large white stone, pure quartz, sticking out of the soil, with other stones built into walls around it. It was probably about four metres high, so quite big and stunning. I suspect that it was known to stone age men, there is a lot of stone age rock art in the area.

We have realised how high up we are here, it is like being in a aeroplane, the clouds come up and down past the kitchen window, it is surreal.

Sunday 6th April 2014

Sun at last. I watched the sunrise, which was magical, each terrce of the quinta, acting like a sundial looking forward to the next one. I have spend a blissful day in the sunshine in shorts only, preparing the cordwood cut by Sr Sergio from the fire zone, into something you can build a wall from. De-barking with a machete, and then wire wool brushing them. After being very unconfident, we have agreed that they will look really good... really good.

We've both had an outdoor shower, and Fabio is doing chips, whilst I am in the verandah, now in the dark, writing this. Sr Francisco came earlier (and yesterday), and Fabio saw him in the village with Donna Graca I think. On Easter the tradition is to go round all the houses in the locality to bless the houses, and everyone has coffee cake maybe a glass of auguardente or liqor (fruit liquors or home made brandy). So aparrently Sr Francisco has said that we want them to come and bless the house for Easter, so the upshot is, they are coming. How sweet!

Tuesday 8th April 2014

Mario did not come today to do the work on the verandah, so it was a good opportunity to sort out the cave room door, which had become warped with the damp, and was not shutting properly. The sunrise was spectacular again this morning. The sun here is really hot, and brilliant, and the sky is a deep blue. The valley and mountain sizzle in the morning sun. I was able to capitalise on the work done yesterday, sorting out the electrics in the kitchen and the cave room, and organising the tools and a place to work. I spent the morning yesterday drawing the planned work in the verandah, and things are on hold there until Mario does his work there, and I have made a decision about the window frames. With the sun yesterday we were able to charge all the computers and things that needed a charge, and dry the washing. We used the 800W inverter to power the blender from the solar power, and made sprouted chick pea houmous, with freshly cooked naan bread. Fabio has been potting up plants, so we have quite bit going on at the moment.It took most of the day to cut the bottom off the door, and make strengthening supports. I have realised I have got limited screws and wood, but we managed to find enough to do a reasonable job. I am pleased we can lock the door, and there should be a few more years life in it yet. We just need to get some varnish, and give it a waterproof coating all over. We walked up to the mina this evening and poked around up there. I am not confident what we have got up there will not overflow, so was trying to find out where the water goes. We have worked out there are two 'plug holes' or drains, one of which goes to Sr Sergio's old tank, which is unsafe and needs to be demolished, the other goes to the barocco. We tested this by blocking the holes with the heel of my wellies. The problem is that the flow of water is too highup, and there is practically nothing stopping it overflowing, and when the weeds grow in the channels, then they overflow. It all works fine if you are here to oversee what is going on and can dig out the channels as necesary. However we are not, and we need something to work to divert the water from the mina straight into the barocco, and to bypass Sr Sergio's old tank completely. I made the mistake of lifting one of the stone 'plug holes' and confirmed that yes this is the route to Sr Sergio's old tank, but all the water went down there, and nearly filled the tank, and it was impossible to get the plug hole back and fairly watertight. I have cobbled something together with smaller stones and grass and weeds, and it is going roughly in the right direction. However I think the solution is about 5 metres of a very big plastic drainpipe people use here, to go directly from the mina, to the underwater channel to the barocco, that way we can be fairly sure it won't get blocked and overflow again in the winter and completely bypass Sr Sergio's tank. It would also be an opportunity to put a water pipe in to collect spring water to fill the water tank. The weather has turned and the rain will probably be much less frequent now. There is plenty of water around, but we just need a way to direct it to where we need it.

Thursday 10th April 2014

I woke early after a very bad night's sleep to go to the weekly market in Arganil. The sofa bed is not comfortable, and the floor was preferable, and I have had a problem with my shoulder. After becoming exasperated with the pain at night I pulled my arm very hard, gripped between my knees, there was a big crunch, and somehow now it feels much better, much to my relief. We bought vegetables, and a few essentials from Arganil market. The weather has been the hottest yet, with a clear sky this morning. The heat was fine, but the sun was so strong that I couldn't really look at anything other than the ground without squinting, I need sunglasses. On return we rinsed and tried to wring out the washing as best as possible without the spinner (which has broken) and the weather was in our favor, as we managed to get most things dry. The bad night's sleep gave plenty of time to think about the practicalities of doing the work in the verandah in cordwood, and we have discussed things again, and gone back to doing a timber frame, with wood cladding, as I am confident I can do this in the timeframe (although it is likely to be a bit more expensive). I would like to try some different building techniques in Cortelha, but to finish the verandah in Cassaca we need to keep things simple. We have moved the position of the door, which will make the whole construction simpler. We need some stone steps however, and I think we need Sr Mario to do these, as the wall he has creating at the base of the verandah is excellent work, and we need steps to match really. We will sort out some wooden steps until xisto steps can be made. In Arganil, we discussed delivery of some UBC water tanks, which will be a very useful addition to having more water collection and storage. We can also get some pipes delivered to divert some water from the barocco to the water tank, as we have had a look inside the tank, and with the strong sunlight, Mario's tarpaulin has not really worked, and some algae has started to grow. So as the barocco is still running strongly, we want to refresh the water supply. We have reached the conclusion that we also need to put a rainwater collecting lid on the water tank, with a corrugated roofing material to feed into a gutter and filter to drain into the tank to exclude the light and keep the water fresh. I can't really think of any other way to do this practically without using some wood to support the structure, so we have decided to order some more wood, and get this job done as a priority. We will have to ensure the wood is preserved as best as possible.We spent the evening taking measurements. Sr Fransico came again to help Fabio with potting some plants.Busy days at the quinta!

Friday 11th April 2014

I was a bit entranced by the sounds of the pigs in the valley (by Tapadinha I think) in the darkness and the mist last night, between us and the village, I think they were in the waterfall having a wash. We just heard the grunts in the darkness before a last wee in the darkness before bed, echoing in the valley. It's very odd being somewhere where you don't speak the language. Perhaps odder, as I do understand things, and enter in and out of conversations, because I know what is being said, but not what to say back. Funny being in these situations.We went to Coja today to ask for some quotes for windows and a door, and the wood to construct the verandah. We have got a bit more of an idea how to order wood, and what is available. Everything is cut to order so very different than England.

Saturday 12th April 2014

Today was probably the hottest and sunniest yet. I had got a bit sunburnt previously, and I made sure I was covered with factor 50 sun block, but worked all day outside with just shorts. The cover Mario put on the tank has not been 100% successful, and the water is starting to look a bit green with algae. So we have decided that water from the barocco will be the solution to freshen things up. I bought some hosepipe previously, but had never had the right opportunity to give it a try, so I fixed an old Guarana bottle with the end cut off to a piece of pine, and put it in the right position to collect water in the barocco in the tank terrace. At first I thought the water would not flow down the hose pipe, but eventually we got about 10 litres a minute, which is absolutely plenty (enough to fill the 18,000 litre tank in about a day and a half, enough water to last the summer). We filled up the water tank and have had some ideas about how to proceed with a better water supply. A special event was a shower in the buddha cave in the sunlight overlooking the mountain. Really cold, but in the warm sun it was fine and great fun. In the afternoon we decided to start clearing some of the area around the back of Cassaca, where the drain will be. We uncovered steps which we were sure were there, and probably go all the way up to the spring at the top of Cassaca, from where the barocco flows. We plan at some stage to uncover them all. However the ones right by the house will need to be removed, as this is the channel Mario has suggested sends rainwater right in to the top floor of Cassaca. I like the 'archeology' part of the discovering things at the quinta. Fabio went to Coja in the morning to get something to mend the extension cable from the generator in the animal house in Cortelha to Cassaca, as he cut through the cable doing some clearing of the ferns.In the evening we had barley broth and fried aborbora with salad (the barley broth has become a bit of a favourite, not so much a broth, but a thick stew of greenery, pot barley and onion and garlic and whatever else really).

Sunday 13th April 2014

After finishing the household jobs this morning, we decided to head off to the first forest road, from Cassaca. We managed to get through with a machete, but the going was not easy, by the top spring and Donna Hilda's tree. We really love this part of the valley, and after initial cloud, the sky was clear and the sun hot. There are very fine views to Enxudro from this point and across the valley of the Mondego river to the large mountains on the far horizon. Up there, you are much closer to Picotta, and it is very remote and unvisited by anyone. We found the 'golden' mina after cutting a distance through undergrowth taller than us, however it must have been reflected light when we visited first, as we found no xisto stones reflecting light and looking like gold this time. Using the machete to get closer in to the mina we found huge roots inside dangling down looking like something alien and very strange there was also the glimmer of light at the end. We figured there must have been a path down the barocco there to the end of the valley and the farmland in Enxudro, as there apear still to be stones aligned as steps alongside the water. There are also large areas of land that are covered with brambles which appear to have been cultivated at some time, and the mina is also evidence of cultivation there in the valey. There are also areas of forest. On the mountain over the far side of the valley there are also areas with evidence of cultivation very high up on the slopes, patches of cleared land in the forest, now overgrown with ferns. Such a beautiful place, we love the views, the tranquility, the mountain and the evidence of past work and cultivation, preserved by the vegetation and the mountain.After a big lunch and a long rest this afternoon, I decided to clean the car, as we need to give 'Carina' a bit of attention and take her to the garage. I think the inside also needs a good clean as, even though it is old and past it's best, we should make the most of it really and hope the car lasts for a while yet. We bought some wax polish, so I will try and get that done tomorrow. I can't connect the hose pipe to the water outlet at the bottom of the house, and the hosepipe is not long enough to reach the barocco, so I can not set things up to drain the big tank yet. The flow of water seems to have dropped a little since yesterday. We neeed to press ahead with sorting out the delivery of the extra water tanks, and organising the mina connection to the barocco and getting fresh water filling and refreshing the tank by the house. One day we will get the water collection functioning as well as the solar collection is now functioning.

Monday 14th April 2014

After organising the house and papers, lists and plans for the week, we had an early lunch and set out for Coja to buy the necessary things to re-cover the tank and collect spring water, this time with two tarpulins to exclude more light, and steel supports (used for re-inforced concrete construction). We have a 50 metre bright yellow hose pipe, and plan to connect this to the tap in the verandah to empty the tank, clean it as necessary, and re fill it, fitting the new cover. The water will then enter the top of the tank from the hosepipe from the barocco, then drain through the bottom of the tank, and out through the garden tap at the base of the house, down the new yellow hose pipe, and back into the barocco, hence there will be a circulating fresh supply of spring water, and 18,000 litres for the summer if and when the barocco dries up. I have thought of a more elegant way to do the whole things, but this will do for now. Hopefully the job will be compete, and the tank full in a couple of days. We had a coffee after getting a few provisions in the square in Coja, with fresh orange juice, a tostada de queijo (cheese toastie), and I had a strawberry tart. On the way home we drove to the second forest road to explore. There are quite a few of what look like silver birch in that are part of Cassaca.Whilst on the subject of strawberries and fruit in general in the Quinta, we have named the flat terrace on Cortelha 'strawberry fields', as it is full of wild strawberries, which we should hopefully be able to eat this year, and Sr Francisco says the trees that come out first with pure white flowers here are wild cherries, which also are small, but very sweet. It's a bit of a quandary what to do with these areas, as they produce food naturally, so we need to think carefully about how and what we plant. These terraces are also the places the 'turtulhos' (wild mushrroms) grow which are the size of a dinner plate. I guess we are going to end up digging just a small fraction of these areas, and planting fruit trees instead. I would like to plant more oranges and lemons. The strimming helps, so that the strawberries are not crowded out by other plants in the spring, and similarly the mushrooms in the Autumn.Today was more overcast in the afternoon, with thunder and lightning, some rain in Enxudro, but not in Coja where we were having coffee and cake.

Tuesday 15th April

Today has been another successful day, but lots of work. I started the day preparing things for draining the tank, painting the metal supports, removing the covers and using various hosepipes to attach to as many outlets as possible to drain the tank completely, which has this evening been a success. Fabio has been digging channels to divert the tank water to irrigate the vegetable plot, preparing more land for planting, washing the car, and we have eaten very well, and enjoyed the sun and light cloud. There was a spot of thunder, and a few spots of rain. A couple from the village came up to say hello this evening and see about access, as they have a property in the far edge of the valley that belonged to grandparents. We are finally beginning to work out who owns which bits of the valley. Sr Sergio will come at some point during the week before Easter, to discuss clearing some land higher up in Cassaca around the mina, and the English corner and the top spring, and also to discuss some land in the valley that belongs to his sister. Tomorrow will be another day of sorting out the tank, but hopefully by the end we will have a clean tank, with a secure cover, full of circulating fresh spring water.

Wednesaday 16th April 2014

Another full (or full-on) day. We scrubbed the tank with dilute bleach, and completely emptied it and cleaned it, and constructed a metal framed top, lashed together with string and insulation tape, and two tarpulins fixed down with orange string, and the rim edged with stones to stop any chances of anything crawling in. It's quite sturdy now, although it took a while to get the frame right. It's filling up with water from the barocco, and everytime we go past it sounds like someone running the biggest bath you could imagine. We will leave it for 24 hours, by which time we can check if it is full. One tap in the verandah is working, but for some reason the other one and the kitchen tap are not working. We'll wait and see how things are tomorrow when the tank is much fuller and the water pressure is greater.Arganil market tomorrow for fruit trees for Cortelha principally, and to order the UBC water tanks and pipe to connect the mina to the barocco.

Friday 18th April 2014 Good Friday

Today we are in airplane mode again, in the clouds, totally misty and no breath of wind. We have decided to rest and cooked and English lunch. Sr Sergio said he would call late this afternoon, to discuss work and plans. Yesterday was a complete contrast, a clear blue sky and hot. We went to market in Arganil fairly early, and the tempation to buy more trees than we had planned overtook us again. The man selling trees gave us a couple of extra trees as well, I think we will go back to buy from him next time. We bought two winter oranges, one summer, and a clementine, a lime (caipirinha), two lemons, two marmelos (quince), and a plum and apple were extra. The plan is to put some more citrus trees on Cortelha, on the strawberry fields. There is a lot more room for trees on Cortelha, it would be good to get more tree planting done there, they were all five euros each. We discussed the tanks and water collection, but the flexible pipe for the mina will need to be delivered, so we need to fix the delivery next week, after Easter. The chocolate cake we bought for the blessing of the house, has melted a bit in the heat.

Saturday 19th April

Another morning in the clouds, and quite cold. I went for a walk to the 'golden mina' before breakfast, but it was quite misty and difficult to see anything. It's not that far, about 15 minutes by forest track. After breakfast was an appropriate time to clean and empty the toilet, which does not smell at all. It's a chore, but ok as it is making compost, and costs nothing. We have figured the best way to make growing beds for vegetables is to dig a hole in the area where the growing bed is going to be, then put the contents of the toilet in the bottom, cover with the soil originally taken from the hole, and then plant with crops that are harvested from above ground (beans for example). The whole process should take a year to fill, and a year to grow the crop, by which time the contents should be fully composted and microbiologically safe. The soil used in the toilet whilst filling up the first trench, can be from the trench planned for the subsequent year, that way we are constantly making growing beds with manure dug deep in the ground, as a cylce.I decided to make a start on the land drain above Cassaca, it was hard work but I cleared the whole length and dug abut a third. Fabio has been digging more growing beds and planting. Sr Sergio came, and will clear the whole of the top of Cassaca up to the first forest road. He also discussed the property in the valley which belongs to his sister. It is fantastic, and includes lots of land for planting trees, including the golden mina. Two couples from the village who live in Lisbobn also came up, everybody who has seen the quinta thinks it is 'gira' which apparently means it is cool and looks good!I went up to the first forest road an the golden mina again this evening, and the cloud had lifted. The view is fantastic from up that high.

Monday 21st April

Easter morning was bright and clear, and I set out early to run to the top of Picotta (well run and walk). I just caught the sunrise near the top of the mountain, and the forest was clear and fresh, and it really felt like a holiday. It took just over half an hour to get to the top, and about 25 minutes on the way down. Later that morning we drove to the viewpoint to look at the quinta and take some pictures. It's a great place to see the surrounding land and get bearings. We walked to the end of the road, to get a better view. A group of touring bikers stopped in the viewpoint, Fabio thought they were from Minas Gerais.Sr Francisco came up to the house after lunch, a little anxious and confused regarding the blessing of the house. However Dona Graca and the priest and attendant came and blessed the house, but did not stay for refreshments, as I think they had a tight schedule. Later we cooked mouqueca and had some sparkling wine. It has been more overcast today. Whilst Fabio has been in the garden, I cooked and elaborate chinese lunch, with home-made manjin and tofu, and seem to have spend a long time doing the clothes washing and cleaning. We miss the spinner, even though it's not essential in the sunnier weather, it makes drying clothes much easier.

Tuesday 22nd April

I started the working day with a screwdriver, and quickly reached the conclusion that neither it nor me were going to coax life out of the spinner. It has taken two days to dry the washing, so we need to find some other solution (one of which is not to let so much washing mount up). Fabio went to Coja to sort out some pressing problems, firstly the guys from Casal de Sao Joao sent the quote for the wood for the verandah on the 17th, but we did not get the text, communication is difficult at the quinta. Secondly, no-one has heard of a spinner, they don't have them in Portugal, however we do have a contact for someone who mends electrical equipment, so that might be worth giving a go. The car can be booked in for repair on Thursday, I am fed up with push starting it and I think it needs a new starter motor, it may be more than a new starter motor that it needs, and certainly the list includes two new front tyres, as well as a good clean in the interior. There are some pressing problems that just need to be sorted, to make life tick along a bit easier at the moment.I spent all morning and early afternoon mapping out Cortelha, as I still don't really have an idea how big it is and we want to plant the trees we bought, but planting without a plan is pointless, and to reach a conclusion about a plan we needs measurements and a map. However things are getting much clearer in my mind. We want to keep everything that is there, but make the land more useful. It has taken some careful thought and observtion, because there is wild food growing already as well as established trees etc. The wild cherries have started to form fruit, and the wild strawberries and still flowering, and there are the mushrooms in the autumn to consider, plus the chestnut trees that have just popped up, and the other trees that were there when we got there. Also, we need areas to grow crops on a large scale (soya, barley, rye, corn) as well as vegetables, and a greenhouse, and growing beds, and sort out the public access, as well as keep out the pigs, and not make it look like a concentration camp, and make also make room for a liesure area and camping in the future, and a verandah for the campers with barbecue and a toilet and shower. So, a tall order, but I think we are coming up with a mature plan. We will have much more room for more fruit trees, dedicated areas for grazing and producing some hay over the summer, which can be cut for the mushrooms in the autumn, areas to rotavate, camping on the strawberry fields, two orchards either side, and two stout pig fences down the middle.In the afternoon we set of with a machete and a hedge hook, to find the quinta at the end of the valley Sr Sergio's sister wants to sell. We have visited before, but it is much more overgrown now. There is an orchard with quite a few fruit trees that just need a bit of attention to let some light in, two tanques or pocas full of mud and slime that need digging out, about three good sized terraces, overgrown with ferns, lots and lots of brambles (sleeping beauty's castle again like Cassaca when we arrived first), the stone animal house is fine, and has a stone roof, but needs new chestnut timbers, so would be a big project to restore to good use. There is a fantastic stream with pools of clear water, which heads up to the 'golden mina', and the vast terrace areas of brambles we have seen from the first forest road and from the viewpoint, plus some pine woodland. The view across the valley to the mountain range in the distance is fantastic. I love the place, did from the first time I went there. We will just have to see what happens. The weather has turned quite cold, and we have put the gas fire on this evening, and it is raining a little, it is not unwelcome and keeps the plants watered. I have spent over an hour trying to send an e-mail, so communication is another issue that needs a solution.

Wednesday 23rd April St George's Day

The achievement of the day has been the ressurection of the table made from floorboards for the top floor of Cassaca, this time with metal fold-down table legs from Coja, and rigging up a spotlight which allows us to do anything needing light in the evenings. Evening entertainment has been limited so far as there hasn't been a table to work at, nor lighting to allow anything much to be done above basic moving around, so even reading a book has not been easy. We are now celebrating having a comfortable table to eat and to work at, in the warm in the top floor of Cassaca, with the gas fire on as it has dropped a bit cold. The possibilities are unlimited, we could even play cards, or a board game, such simple pleasure from having a table! This all started as I am determined to draw a decent map of Cortelha before planting any more trees as trees planted in the wrong place become a problem in the future, and are a waste of effort. The map needs a table and a light, and now we have both of those, so we can move forward with this idea, and plant the trees soon.Tomorrow is Arganil market, how quickly the days seem to be filled at the moment, so we need to make some plans for shopping, and for ordering the water tanks and pipes, wood for the verandah, and decide when to take the car in for repair.

Sunday 27th April 2014

Today has been a relief, as the sun has shone all day with light high cloud. We have spent the day at the quinta, and the washing is done, the ferns on Cassaca lower terraces have been strimmed, the water problems in Cortelha have been resolved, and the stone from the top pond has been removed to prevent problems over the coming winter and to stop the peach tree being waterlogged. The grass and weeds have also been removed from some of the steps. This contrasts with the last few days, which have been damp misty, gloomy and exhausting. We were forced off the road onto the verge near Arganil on Thursday by a lorry carrying a wide load, and hit a stone, damaging the wheel. We tried the spare tire, but that was also flat, and it was raining heavily. We got a taxi, and the driver was very helpful taking us to a large warehouse for spares on the Industrial Estate in Arganil, and to a garage to have the tyre fitted to the new wheel rim. The subsequnt two days have been very wet and misty, and there hasn't been much to do other than be indoors with gloomy cold weather. The plans for the quinta have been reconsidered, and there probably is not enough time or money to comfortably complete the verandah outer shell this time, and probably no need as the weather has now improved, and we don't plan to be here over the winter. So we will probably just focus on the essentials step by step, the car repairs, the mina, the drain on Cassaca, clearing and trimming the fire zone, strimming both quintas, and planting more trees. This is plenty to do in the time we have got, and we should be able to do this comfortably without the pressure of a deadline. I have also got some shoulder pain, which is an on going problem, which is getting better, but some respite would be very good to allow it to recover well.

Monday 28th April

The bets were on Mario not turning up this morning, but he did turn up, with his brother, they are half way through the job, and things are looking nice. There are also some new steps up to the verandah, in brick, but they can be covered with xisto at some point. We have reached the conslusion next year will probably be the best time to finish the verandah, and Sr Mario should hopefully be less busy at that point and can finish the job. We have spent all day in the quinta, and the weather has been fine. I am looking a bit sunburnt and a bit Egyptian, much darker complexion than I have seen myself before. I spent time today, as ever on the quinta, doing several jobs which need to be done, before the job that I wanted to do. I want to plant the citrus trees on Cortelha, but needed first to clear the land by the steps to get a better idea of where the fence will go, and how the trees will fit in with the exisitng vines (which are probably the best on the quinta, but need to be pruned properly and have proper supports re-established). This lead to clearing the steps themselves, which led to finishing clearing the other steps on Cortelha (about two thirds complete now). I have dug most of the holes for the trees, and measured up, and I am fairly confident this has been the right choice for their position. I need to complete the job by putting in supports for the clear plastic which needs to go over in the winter as frost protection, and I may combine it with something to help reduce the impact of strong winds, so cutting down small pine trees for supports will be the next job. Fabio has spent a lot of time strimming and tending to the olives, who knows one day they may produce some fruit (no signs of any so far!)

Tuesday 29th April

More surprises today, we set out fairly early after Sr Mario arrived this morning to Coja, to get some parts and extra cement, and to top up on supplies for the kitchen. I wanted to stop and have a look at a lemon tree I remembered in Pardieros, as it is close to Enxudro, as I wanted to check if there were any particular conditions that make lemon trees happy. So we headed from Fraga da Pena to Pardieros on the way back from Coja, and passed a lot of building work and large renovated xisto houses in the valley, with roads opened in the forest for access. On the way to the village we stopped and Fabio asked a woman about her goats. The lemon tree was roughly as remembered by a wall and facing south west but not particularly sheltered, so that gives some hope for the citrus trees in Eira dos Vales. We have decided on positions for citrus close to Cortelha building and the strawberry field, and possibly down further on the sheltered northern side of Cortelha that gets a lot of sun in the winter. There are some citrus on Cassaca that have not done well, but we plan to move them soon when we have got the greenhouse up and running, as they can overwinter there and hopefully recover, and be moved out some time in the future (or even stay there if they don't get too big and they like it).Past Pardieros, I had intended that we take to road to Enxudro, which is a rough road, and we don't often use it. However Fabio missed the turning, so we carried on, as we planned to have some cake and a drink we bought in Coja, before returning to the quinta with Sr Mario's building materials. We have kind of missed the Mata da Margaraca when we have been before, going along the top road, however the lower road is much better, with cobbles and is very beautiful. Lots of very lush and diverse trees and vegetation, waterfalls, it is very cool, and and very nice place to be. The trees are similar to those above Cassaca, but many fewer pines, and much more diversity. An idea how much of the Iberian peninsular would have been covered with lush cool forests an lots of water iin the past. When we left we headed up a fairly steep mountain road, with many more pines and sparse vegetation, to take a photo of the forest. When we tried to start the car, there was no action from the starter motor at all. We tried the spare battery, which was highly unikely but worth a try. We also tried to start the engine by rolling backwards in reverse, and also by rocking the car in fourth gear to dislodge the starter motor which we figured may have got stuck. All to no avail. Mandatory car insurance in Portugal comes with roadside assistance, so a truck came to tow the car away and take it to Fernando's garage in Casal de Sao Joao, and a very calm taxi driver from Arganil to take us back to the quinta all within half an hour or so. I spent a dreamy time looking through the window all the way back home at the trees and the vegetation, through the Mata da Margaraca again, and back to Enxudro and the quinta. Strangely today I have felt 'at home', I think principally it is the sun, as it has been glorious today, I feel like I am on holiday from school in the countryside at home in my childhood. We are both upset with the car, if Carina can't be sorted, then Carina will have to go, and we will have to sort something else out. Sr Mario and Sr Ze Manuel (Mario's brother) have done a very nice job with the shower and steps, which should hopefully be finished to morrow morniing. We rested in the afternoon, and are looking forward to a work day at the quinta tomorrow. I hope to make more progress with the citrus planting and frame for their covers, and start planning the fence to keep out the Javalis.

Wednesday 30th April

We have forgotten to ring to see what is going on with the car, as we have been so absorbed with things in the quinta today. It has been sunshine and suncream all day. Mario has been here, and spent the day finishing the verandah shower, and it looks very good now, very big bold pieces of xisto covering the shower area. Once the whole verandah is done it will look very good indeed. As ever, there is always alittle bit left over for next time, and there is some problem with the shower fittings which he will return to do tomorrow. So great progress has been made.I have been digging holes for trees all day. I was determined to find the right place for the citrus, and have got sidetracked on a project of digging holes for olives as well. The top terraces in Cortelha have grass with orchids growing in, amongst much wildlife, the wild strawberries, and mushrooms in the Autumn, so what to do with them has been a question, together with considering the sunlight in the winter, which only reaches certain parts, and the fences, and the pigs and the footpath. I have decided the best thing to do is to have established trees which will not disturb the orchids, mushrooms and wildflowers etc, but still hopefully produce some food. We can have the grass underneath as a kind of meadow, which is strimmed a particular times of the year, and the hay or grass crop can be used for other purposes. We can also have some small growing areas for climbing and trailing plants, like pumpkins and climbing beans to make more efficient use of the space, from a food growing perspective. So I have been finding the right place for the cirtrus, and olives, which are being transplanted from Cassaca. Some areas are reassuring with deep soil, and some dissappointing, with rock and xisto close to the surface. All this allows lots of time to contemplate the overall design of the building in the future as well. The more experience I have here, the more minimal I want the design to be, from a cost and aesthetic perspective, and more minimal should be less work and have more parts functioning in different wways throughout the year, so more efficient in the long run. Visiting season will be May to September, so the rest of the year the buildings can have another funsction, which will co-incide with the wet weather anyway, and the buildings function differently in the wet and the cold. I saw a slow worm (or snake) in the grass today, I am fairly certain it was a slow worm. I presume they are called slow worms in England as they like to bask in the sun. This one certainly was not slow, as it whizzed through the grass, with an 'S' shaped movement. Fabio has seen lots whilst strimming the olive terraces. The evenings are short as we are exhausted with all the physical work.

Thursday 1st May - Dia de Trablhadores

I have mde the mistke again of wearing shorts working on the quinta. It is so tempting in the sunny weather, however both legs have numerous itchy uncomfortable insect bites, some of which I know were caused by ants whilst digging holes for the trees (which still have not been planted). I have got different creams, but they will run out soon, and the temptation is to itch, which last time led to a scar and hole in my skin, which has remained. There is something in the venom that causes big areas of inflammation and hard skin around the bite. I wish I had remembered not to wear shorts. Wearing any trousers, and especially wellies, is really uncomfortable at the moment, so I have been on house duties today.Another surprising day at the quinta, it was a misty foggy start, with good weather and 27 degrees forecast. Sr Sergio turned up at 7.30am before we were up and breakfasted, with a relative to strim the top of Cassaca around the spring. By lunchtime they were finished. There was less strimmed than I thought was going to be done, as the half of the top terrace is left to do. However, a big surprise, as Sr Sergio uncovered a lot of land we never knew belonged to Cassaca. He followed the line of steps we discovered a while back which we thought led to the spring. These are at right angles to the terrace, and he followed these steps and cleared the undergrowth right back to the first forest road. A big chunk of pine trees we never knew we had, and following the line up to the land above Cassaca, potentially much more land than we thought. It's quite difficult to visualise parralell lines on a large scale from ground level, especially when obscured by trees and the horizon. Sr Sergio will clear the pines if that is decided at a later date in May. I think it would be a good idea to do so, as there are chestnuts that would grow to maturity with a little light and room, we would also like to plant more nut trees. We will have a think and see, there are another three terraces uncovered, however only one has a stone wall.The other news is that Sr Sergios sister (Donna Hilda's daughter) will come on the weekend to discuss selling the land at the end of the valley. Sr Sergio will come on Saturday to show us the limits of the land, and from then on I guess a price can be discussed. I am not sure whether the documentation has already been made for the land, and I had reconciled myself to not buying any more land in the valley as nothing seemed to be happening on that front. It is a big amount of land to take on, and I don't want to rush into anything. As we can now walk from Cassaca to the first forest road throught the quinta, I took a walk this afternoon to just before the golden mina. It was very sunny, and a perfect afternoon. It is such a calm, and peaceful piece of land, with birds singing very close in trees, unconcerned by humans, as I guess no-one really goes up there at all. The road is very overgrown, and I suspect we are the only people to have visited this year, judging by the undisturbed vegetation. The quinta has very large pieces of land previously cleared of trees and farmed in some way, which are full of brambles, and my idea would be over a period of numerous years, to tackle small areas of brambles, and plant trees slowly, mostly natural trees from the area, but also maybe some trees for timber. Maybe both, as chestnut is used for construction, as well as nuts and is a local tree that grows very well. We will have to see how this plan develops.

Saturday 3rd May

Everything has been on hold for me over the last few days, as I have been on house duties (cooking and washing and the like) because of the ant bites on my legs. The calamine lotion Fabio found seems to be working, but it is best for them to heal properly, and then return to outdoor work, as they have blistered and looked quite inflamed and potentially septic. The wether has been spectacular, clear skies and sizzling sun, so an opportunity to pad around the house and cook really nice food and listen to music in the sun. Fabio has been gardening. The top spring seems to finally have dried up, so we need to either push ahead with the plans for the tanks and the water pipe for the mina, or change the water collection point to Sr Sergio's old tank. We are waiting for Sr Sergio to turn up some time this afternoon, to show us around the quinta that is for sale. Having doubts in the air over the water, and a water tank that is less than full is disturbing my peace a little, but there is plenty of water to last the rest of our stay without strict rations. The new land would solve these problems, as water could be piped from the golden mina all summer for just a few hunderd euros for the pipework. We will just have to see what happens.

Sunday 4th May

The ant bites have healed enough to be out and about a bit today. Sun and a strong salt solution has helped a bit I think, and calamine lotion and rest. I planted the citrus trees this morning. Some had really well developed roots, but the lemon seemed hardly to have any roots at all, so I am not sure what went on at the tree nursery. They have all had a bucket and a half of water, and I will keep up watering them while we are here. We decided to have a proper lunch, and I put the rede (hammock) in the verandah after lunch and has a very nice rest listening to jazz and some Portuguese music until about 3.30pm. After I got up and had eucalyptus tea and honey, which is my current favourite, I went up to the new land strimmed by Sr Sergio, and cut some thin pines for the frames for the citrus trees and to act as supports. So the next job on my list is to get these frames in place ready for the winter covers, and also to tie the trees and support them. The next job after that will probably be to tackle the fire zone, and finally remove the remaining wood, and strim the heather and ferns. We have divided the fire zone into two, and I have got the far half from Sr Mario's tap up to the bendy tree. I will be responsible for the maintainance, and storage of the wood, which can be for Cortelha at some point. We are going to encourage the natural trees that have popped up, as they are less of a fire risk, and since the last fire the pines have just taken over and dominated. So trimming back the pines, helps the rest really in the long run. There are at least five growing on my half that we didn't know about, and there are three well established trees, two cork oaks, and a holm oak. All the deciduous trees have fabulously fresh lime green leaves at this time of year. What seemed a bit radical in terms of cutting down so many trees, will hopefully turn out to help restore the balance of the trees around a bit. We have been waiting for Sr Sergio to turn up and show us the land for sale, but he hasn't. I don't mind this Portuguese habit of being very laid back regarding time, but the corollory is to drop the English habit of waiting for people if they say they will visit or do something, and just go out anyway if you fancy. It makes things slightly more chaotic, but everything seems to muddle along and get done in the end. The car needs to be sorted, so we are waiting news. I have solved the current water problem by collecting water directly from the mina with the hose pipe, but we should press ahead with getting the water tanks delivered and filled with water. The flow of water from the mina now is really strong, and fille the tank up from being worryingly low in just a few hours. We will need to walk to Benfeita to get a few bits from the shop soon, as we had not planned to be without the car.

Tuesday 6th May

This morning I didn't have energy to do much, so went for a long walk from Cortelha, to the first forest road, and then up to the second forest road to get a closer look at the land adjoining Cassaca. The trees towards the top are more diverse, and there is much more silver birch. Lots of the chestnuts seem to have been coppiced, or the chestnuts have been cut in the past, and then they have grown many branches from the original trunk. They seem to make a very good tree for coppicing. The chestnuts at the top of Cassaca terraces above the first forest road are huge, with big trunks that could make good beams for roof timbers, all sprouting from the original stump. This evidence in the landscape of past activity is interesting, as is evidence of the fire that can be seen in the trees, and also the buildings. The morning was very cler and bright, and I enjoyed being alone in the forest in the cool shade of chestnuts and oaks, which are minty lime green and fresh contrasting with the dark green and dusty hot pines. The views from the top are spectacular over the valley. I knew I had to return for lunch as we had the tank delivery taking place, and I bumped into Fabio by the top spring in Cassaca on my way down. I have decided these long walks and time spent thinking are important to the project, and not a waste of time, because noticing things and thinking about things is more important than making plans without much thought, and is a way to make sure mistakes are avoided as much as possible. So thinking time is as important as activity.The tanks were delivered, and the pipe for the mina. The pipe was a disappointment, as it is not as flexible as I thought, and will not really do the job I intended, so we will have to think some more about that. The tanks are fine, Fabio asked again about their previous use. They should have been used for consumables (oil, sugar syrup) but the man who delivered them said it's not possible to be completely certain, so the plan is to use them for water storage for washing clothes, and the dishes, and in short supply we can get water for cooking and drinking from the village if needs be. I cleaned the exterior, and noticed some mould and fungus growing on one of the pallets on the bottom, so the pallets have been cleaned and painted with diesel and engine oil, and put on one side to dry in the sun tomorrow. The delivery has raised a new set of problems and challenges to be overcome, where to put the tanks, how to attach them to hosepipes, how to arrange water collection. As ever in the quinta, things move in many stages to enable one thing to happen.This principle guided the activity yesterday as well, after felling some timber to make the supports for the citrus frames, the first job of the morning was to haul all the timber down from the top of Cassaca terraces to Cortelha. Then to strip the bark and find appropriate lengths of the right sized timber, sharpen the end, and hammer them into place around the trees. The citrus seem to be doing ok, and the soil they are planted in has not dried up yet, so they have not been watered again. In the afternoon I went hunting again for more of the right kind of trees (not too thick, tall and straight), and Sr Mario called unexpectedly to finish off the shower, adding the chrome attachments. Fabio has varnished the shower today, so it will soon be ready for use. The citrus frames remain an ongoing project, to be completed as and when I am able.

Thursday 8th May

The news from the quinta is that the fox keeps on digging up the vegetable peelings Fabio has buried deeply to rot down underneath the vegetables. We are going to have to re-think where we bury the waste from the kitchen. This morning we have woken to a thick mist, and it's quite chilly, not unpleasant, and I suspect it will clear later. Fabio has driven off early to go to Arganil. We have got the car back from Fernando's garage, and it starts very well. The repair (brushes for the starter motor) was very cheap at Eu 70, and I have confidence that he knows the car well, and it is sound mechanically. So it seems a worthwhile investment to try and make Carina last a bit longer, and clean and tidy the car out a bit. Today Fabio will try and sort out some other things with the car that need attention, and get some more bits from Arganil that can only be done there. I have some administration things to do this morning, house jobs, and I want to mend my pair of bee gloves. The bee gloves have been a life saver, as they are leather and ideal for work outdoors, as they have a long sleeve to cover your forearm, as well as being resistant to thorns and quite tough. Fabio went to Coja yesterday, as we had quite few provisions to get, as we have been without transport. We have got some bricks which will act as a firm base for the water tanks, and some cement to make progress with the land drain. We also have some cal vivo (quicklime) for the toilet compost heap which did have some flies around, but is now much better as it has been fully covered with earth. There is an extra packet to experiment with making lime mortar, as I am keep to experiment with this for the future renovation of Cortelha and for cordwood construction. We started the day with another walk around the quinta, this time making decisions about the fence for Cassaca. We have got a plan which will fence off about half of the terraces for food production from the javali (wild boar), using the tall walls of the socalcos (terraces) to their best advantage to keep the pigs out. It's good to have a plan, as it guides how we strim and plant trees, as we will not have time to do the fence now. We also realised that Sergio's overflowing old tank is not the problem we imagined, but a solution to the problem of irrigation and keeping land moist and good for planting vegetables. The problem is not that the tank overflows, but that we can't control water from the mina, so we can't redirect the water when we need to. Fabio got some smaller flexible pipes from Coja which we can try and use to solve this problem, probably using two or maybe three pipes, as they are not very wide bore, to redirect the water form the mina down the barocco. We will see what to do with the other big pipe, it might bepossible to return it, but if not we will try and find a use for it. There is a tree we planted which is being waterlogged by the water channel, I am sure it is a walnut so it needs to be moved, but we will not do this now as it is too late in spring, but move it in the autumn. Whilst on our walk yesterday morning, we also noticed a new deep channel below the bottom wall of Cassaca, which leads down to the barocco which flows into Cortelha's top tanque. There might be another channel of water here, and I haven't investigated yet. I think that it would be very good to redirect some of the flow of water from the mina down past the house and through Mario's tank, and the long lenth of plastic pipe might help with this, there are also drains to organise around Cortelha, we will have to see what happens and how we might use the pipe if needed. I spent the yesterday afternoon on the fire zone, and cleared about one quarter of my area of sticks and wood and pine cones, which I have broken into sticks for kindling, and put into a big heap. We plan to cover this with a tarpaulin before we go. We have decidied that rather than build a log store, the best and easiest solution is to create wood piles covered by tarpaulins along the road at the entrance to Eira dos Vales. It's easily accessible for both Cassaca and Cortelha, we can chop wood on the road surface as some is bare rock, the piles just need tidying up a bit, as they are a bit messy at the moment. We plan to get this problem sorted before we go, and chop some wood. We should have a very good supply of wood then to last a long time prepared and dry under tarpaulins, to make using the fires a practical proposition during winter months.

Friday 9th May

I was up early this am, and worked for two hours before breakfast clearing more of the fire zone. It's the best time of day, I should do it more. The fire zone is going to be a bit of a chore to clear, but once done it will not have to be done ever again, and we will have lots of wood stored. I was well organised today, and had food prepared in advance, and washing already soaking etc, so was able to get quite a lot done. After breakfast I washed out one of the tanks, and we managed to carry it it precariously down the sloping path to Cortelha, and I spent quite a while trying to level some bricks for it to sit on. It filled from a hose pipe in quite a short time, so Cortelha has it's own water supply tank now, and it will make watering the citrus over the summer much easier. After a big lunch, the whole afternoon has been spent sorting out the pine thrown down from the fire zone this morning. The active day today contrasted with yesterday, where I spent most of my time around the house. I mended some clothes with a needle and thread, including my bee gloves, which is something I have been meaning to do for a long time. Two days where lots has been done.

Sunday 11th May 2014

The last two days have been occupied with the trees, I have moved some of the olives from the bottom terrace of Cassaca to Cortelha, as we plan to dig that plot to get rid of the bracken, and plant vegetables. I have also planted the last lemon tree, made another citrus frame for the other lemon on Cortelha (a tall one as they look like they will grow big quite rapidly), finished off tidying the wood collected so far from the fire zone, and planted the plum and apple in what I hope will become an orchard on the top terrace of Cortelha. I have had a look at the organic gardening book and realised we are not making enough compost, and also realised we need to make better preparations now to plant food vegetables next year if we are to have any chance of success. Together with the daily washing and cooking, days are full, but I have found the hours between six and eight am suit me well for outdoor work as it is cool and insect free and a magical time to be up and about, then indoors and having breakfast as the sun rises behind the mountain. There has been some mist in the mornings, but it clears as the day progresses. I think the plants like it as they can absorb moisture. All the trees planted have had buckets of water to welcome them to their new spots, the citrus all look OK, apart from the clementine which is not showing any signs of being unhappy, but has now new leaves or shoots. I have made a list of the 'must do' things, together with a realistic plan of what needs to be done week by week, and there won't be much spare time, before we have to return to England.

Tuesday 13th May

The last two days have been completely involved with trying to sort out the mina. The attempts yesterday, with the large pipe, and the inflexible pipe did not work. We excavated the original channels, and found out how it all worked. In the afternoon, we headed for Coja, and bought another pipe, with a wide diameter, and a ninety degree bend, which has helped do the job. Whilst having a cider in the sun in a cafe, I checked how to set cement under water on the internet, and we bought a couple of packets of quick drying cement. Today we have learnt a lot, and set the pipe at the right angle, and made a dam across the flowing channel of water exiting the mina, using plastic bags full of sand to divert or slow down the water for long enough to allow the cement to harden. We have encorporated the original function in the design, and any overflow will go into the original channels, and down to Sergio's old tank, from both ends of the pipe, if either became blocked for any reason, or if there is a large amount of water flowing from the mina one winter. However the whole thing should not now become choked with weeds if we are not here, and should be safe and self regulating, with the water diverted for the most part down the barocco, and off down the valley. I have included a way to collect water by hose pipe to fill the house tank. I enjoyed working with the xisto and cement, I like the smell of the cement mortar, and I enjoy taking time and care to find the right stones to fit the shape in mind, and to take care to ensure the cement mortar will harden, and that it is not messy and shows the stones off to their best advantage. The whole thing is very minimal, a light construction which could be removed very easily and the mina restored to it's original state, but I am fairly sure it will cope with any large winter surges of water, and it should do the job. We can block off either the end of the pipe, or the barocco 'plug hole' any time to divert the water down to Sergio's tank if needed. It's good practice for the next job, which is the land drain above Cassaca. I have much more confidence that we can do this job now, and make it look good. We still have some work to finish in the mina tomorrow, and if we decide to build a little wall with xisto, then we might need to go in the car and get some from around the roads nearby. We also have three more UBC tanks delivered tomorrow, so six thousand extra litres of water storage. I have been thinking more about water availability, and it would be a very good idea to use the UBC tanks to arrange a collection of water if needed from the spring in Cortelha top tanque, and I saw a 350 watt water pump in Coja that pumps 30 litres a minute, and we could pump in stages and probably get water to wherever we needed in the quinta, using the UBC tanks, all of which could be powered by the solar power using a 12volt battery. I think the spring in Cortelha would be a good bet during certain times of the year, as it is the first one to start flowing as the springs start up, after a dry period. The water often seems to move up the valley from the bottom, so this spring is one of the first. Now we have got some expereince in setting cement uner water, we could build a small wall and integrate a pipe to collect the spring water, and divide the water off from the muddy water in the tanque, giving us much better quality water for use in the house. Much to think about water, but once the systems are set up, then it should be easy to get water under all circumstances.

Wednesday 14th May

Everything we have done seems to have worked in the mina. I finished the dam wall at the front of the mina and left a bit of the wall that could be knocked out in the future, as I think we could adapt and resurrect the small cement tank in front of the mina to be a water collection cistern for spring water collected high inside the mina, and therefore of the best quality, with a pipe to connect the two. We completed the original channels in the traditional way, with stone, earth and gravel, and probably weeds in the future to stitch the whole thing together. I have realised that the whole quinta high up here in the mountain is basically held together with stones, earth and weeds. However our new part of the mina is not traditional, and has a grey pvc pipe, and self regulating chambers at either end with cement and stone walls, and overflows that re-direct excess water down the original channel safely in the winter. They have both been tested, firstly by clearing and unblocking the mina whilst looking for gravel to fill the channels, which caused a surge of water, and also by blocking the ends of the pipe and the 'plug hole' leading to the barocco. I am confident it will work in the winter, and we shouldn't have any spills or flooding, or worse still collapsed terrace walls. I like this combination of new technology and traditional, basically stone age technology, all to regulate the flow of water, we think it looks good together. Three more UBC tanks have been delivered today, so we can now store twenty four thousand litres of water on the quinta for use in summer.

Saturday 17th May

On Thursday we tested the mina, and all the self regulating overflow channels seemed to work, but there was a bit of leakage in the dam wall, so that was repaired with a a little more quick drying cement, and that job is finished now. Once everything has settled down, we can start again collecting water from the mina for Mario's tank. Fabio strimmed the flat terrace of Cortelha in the afternoon, after we had tidied things away from the mina, and I raked alll the grass into a pile next to where I think the first growing bed will be. I need to measure the area first, as we might have room for twelve growing beds. Things are very much still in the planning stage. I also like the idea of diverting water from the barocco to irrigate the whole terrace, whilst the borocco is flowing. I would also like to set up the UBC tanks as rainwater collection tanks, but also have the water from the mina slowly flowing through the whole system, in Cassaca and Cortelha. I can see a way it could be done, but again this is still very much at the planning stage. Also, I think some water storage over the summer needs to be set up, for some drip irrigation with pipes for the growing beds, to see them through the months without water. Friday was my birthday, and we planted a commemorative fig tree on the top terrace of Cortelha, in what I hope will become an orchard. We decided to have a break from quinta work for the rest of the day, and drove through the village, out past the turning to Casa do Sonho to the road to Relva Velha, through the top of the Mata da Margaraca. There are some very big old chestnut trees in this piece of forest, and lots of oaks as well. We turned round and headed back, and parked the car and walked down, as I wanted to walk down through the forest to see how things changed further down the slope. However we tried several routes, which did not seem to get us to where I was expecting to go, so we returned, and followed the road down, and eventually reached a turning onto the cobbled road through the bottom of the forest we had travelled on recently. I had noticed this turning, and was hoping this is where we would emerge. It is a short distance to the information centre, which used to be the house of the owner of the quinta. It's a fine building with a chestnut ceiling, and some information displays, however the curator was upstairs and a man who was doing some filming was looking for the curator and trying to get the building unlocked when we arrived. We followed a footpath into the lower half of the valley, with waterfalls, and other old quinta buildings, including an old cart and a watermill. Lots of the vegetation can be found throughout Cassaca and Cortelha, although I don't know the names of them all. It's a very cool and a very nice place to be. There are some pine trees, but they are very much in the minority, and are vey big old trees, tall, with very wide trunks.Leaving the Mata da Margaraca, we stopped in Pardieros, whilst the ladies of the village were singing in church, and went to the cafe for an ice-cream. The cafe is much more than a cafe, it is a community centre, with a restaurant, and a hotel. I'd like to pop over one evening to have a meal, it is good to have somewhere close by that serves food. The village is very peaceful, with local people sitting in the square. There is a big terrace by the cafe that overlooks the valley, and the olives there have lots of flowers. We didn't feel like going home, so decided to go to the river beach in Coja for the evening. There was no-one else on the beach, so we sat at the end of the pebbles, and bathed our feet. A fish came out and nibbled at my toes. The spot is a fine place to be in the sun, it is very calm, very peaceful, and we ate the picnic food we brought with some vinho verde. We walked back over the weir, and had a beer and a 'travessa de batatas fritas' in the restaurant (which used to be a mill) before heading home, and having a small broad bean pasta with cheese.Today we have had a risotto for lunch, and I have spent the morning cooking, and washing clothes. When everything is done by hand it takes longer, and it takes some time getting used to it, particularly washing clothes. I don't mind doing it, but it takes time to adjust as a certain amount of time each day has to be devoted to household things. This morning Sr Sergio and another worker have arrived early, to do more strimming and to use the chainsaw on some of the larger bushes. We have decided not to cut any pines. Sr Sergio thought we have done a good job with the mina, so that is encouraging. The land now it is cleared looks great, and we can get to the English corner again, and to the chestnut tree which is the top of the extra land that came with Cortelha. We decided this afternoon to check the limits for the land above Cassaca, following the limits given by Sr Sergio. The actually land is much bigger than the documention says, but Sr Sergio suggested that we should not be too concerned over exact measurements, as people don't worry too much about this in Portugal. It's reassuring, and we mapped out what we think is the area of the land above Cassaca, as described to us, and it is big! We also heard from Sr Sergio that the adjoining land may still be for sale, but not for a long time yet, so we are both happy to forget that for now, and concentrate on what we own. We can carry on with our plans for collecting water. Having visited the Mata da Margaraca, we can see that the land above Cassaca, is for the most part very much the same kind of landscape, with big oaks, and chestnuts that must have been cut or copiced in the past, now recovering and taking over the forest once again. There are small areas where pine predominate, and we might think about thinning these out at some point, to allow other trees a bit of space. We are happy we can do what we want in terms of some coppicing and some bees in the future on the land we have got.

Sunday 18th May

Great news for celebration, we have got flowers on the olives! I had a look at the olives in Pardieros when we were there on Friday, and I noticed this morning that some of the olives have flowers (or maybe minature fruit). We are both so pleased, all the effort we have put in may pay off after all. Today has been another day of spectacular weather, and I have worked all day without a shirt. We have been involved with the water again, starting with the mina, we tried the yellow mangueira (hose pipe), but the one that looks like a green snake in the thick grass up on the top terrace by the olives and the mina, is the only one that collects water and reaches the house, so back the the guarana bottle and a hose pipe. The flow of water is very strong, now we have unblcoked the mina 'plug hole' a bit as well, and about five days worth of water use has been filled up in the tank in about six hours. Sr Sergio told us about the mina yesterday, and his father made the first mina in the hollow below Donna Hilda's chestnut tree and the spring, but that collapsed, so he made the mina we now use. I thought they were much older than this, so it is interesting to find out about the history. It is also very intersting to note that they can collapse, and I am firstly very pleased that we both bought hard hats, but secondly wonder whether we should think about some supports for the mina in the future, as we don't want this one to collapse. I will give that some thought.I am sitting this evening surrounded by the sounds of water emptying from various pipes, and filling the new UBC tank, which we have sited on a very temporary base on bricks and stones next to the verandah steps, to catch the overflow from Sr Mario's tank, and also the water form the verandah roof in the future. We want the water to flow continuously, and that's what it is doing at present, with the excess going to water a big pile of compost, with the hope of it rotting down much quicker. I am not entirely sure how this will work, but the general principles seem to be working already. We have water flowing at about a thousand litres and hour, and that is just down the hosepipe, so there is no reason why any of the land should be dry at the moment, we just need to redirect the water away from the barocco to ensue the land is completely soaked to allow crops to gow well during the summer, ideally well mulched so the moisture does not evaporate quickly. I have an idea how to fit a regulating overflow with two 'T piece' junctions using standard black platic water pipe, and a tap, so I want to try that out. I think what we need are tanks all kept full to the brim with the continuingly flowing water, with the excess diverted to irrigation ditches at the top of terraces to irrigate the growing areas and trees. It's going to take time to set up, but we can make a start. We said one day we hope to have the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, and today is one big step forward with the tanks.

Monday 19th May

Foxie has been digging up the vegetable peelings buried in the vegetable plot again, there was a lizard in the bedroom, and there is a large rat in the wood pile, so we have been making sure the doors are shut, and we will move the wood anyway at some point soon. However the wildlife in and around the quinta building have not been centre stage today, and have received little more than a glance or passing comment. The focus has again been on the water, or rather collecting water, and the UBC tanks. It has been dull with some rain today, which I like as a respite. We went to Coja fairly early, and got a hundred metres of tubing to connect the mina to Sr Mario's tank, and we bought some 'T' and 'L' shaped connectors, and I have assembled an overflow system which can be copied with all the other UBC tanks in the future, and allow them to be filled slowly, with water from the mina constantly refreshing the water. It has worked, and I am pleased, however there are some refinements I might make, and I have disconnected the hose-pipe from draining into the tank overnight, and I will give it some thought as I sleep. What we have now is much better than filling the tanks individually, and leaving them, but I think that I will be adjusting things for a long time to come, to get things working how I would like. I am pleased all the connectors have fitted together and are watertight, and I have much more confidence now we can move water around by pipe, and connect the tanks and pipes together. There was rain this afternoon, which was well timed, as I was working on the tanks. The issue is to make sure that the tanks can cope with the surges of rainfall that will occur at certain periods, yet also act as water storage cisterns, be part of the irrigation system, and get refreshed and topped up regularly from the mina to ensure they remain fresh. It would probably help if I drew some diagrams, and calculations to help clarify the areas of concern. All will fall into place, it is just a matter of making things work, and carrying on with things in a systematic way.

Tuesday 20th May

Someone flipped the fun button off today, as it is now raining heavily, quite dark and cold. However, it is good for the plants, and despite things not being arranged for optimal comfort, we have moved the pull down sofa back to it's original position, and now have access again down the cave room steps, which have been swept and the bags of cement and potatoes put to one side. We can get to the kitchen again without getting wet. The rat has been seen in the verandah again, and no one can rustle up the enthusiasm needed the move the wood pile in this weather, so we have to keep on remembering to shut the doors. I have wondered whether it would be better just to leave the kitchen scraps out somewhere, for foxie, and now the rat, because I don't want them (neither the scraps nor the creatures). I will think about that one. I started the day with an optimistic 'focus for the day' list, got a little side-tracked, and the rain has now stopped any more work outdoors. I went up to the English corner this morning, and cut down some small pines for the citrus frames (nearly all done now), and had a look around, and started to cut a path along the southern boundary of Cassaca, from the wall upwards. I really like the English corner, it adjoins the extra land from Cortelha, has a big chestnut, and many small chestnuts shading the area, and just 'feels good'. I have long thought of building a little log cabin in this place, and maybe one day that might be the thing to do. There is what looks like an apple tree right in the corner of Cassaca by the base of the Southern wall, which is covered in moss and lichen, and also has wild honeysuckle growing up it, which in on it's last legs, with half of the tree dead. I removed as much of the moss and lichen as possible, it has light so that's not the problem, I guess it is competing with the other plants and short of nutrients. We don't have any manure, or plant food, so wondered whether a bucket of wee would do the job (I have been reading about the benefits an possibilities of using urine as a fertiliser).Now we are indoors, and curry is cooked. There is no beer, so that's not an option, I have just a few papers to sort, and could sew up my bee gloves again, which have split in a different place, or maybe watch a DVD, but we have a software and hardware problem, so it involves a lot of fiddling, and luck to find a DVD which will play, so more of a DVD lucky dip than a cinema experience, where you can decide what to watch.

Tuesday 21st May

The rat was in the bedroom overnight! There is a gap in the stonework in the corner of the room, and it looks like that is where it got in. It has left some rat droppings, and knocked over an african ornament and broken it. I saw the rat this morning as well, scurrying from around the kitchen door. We have been hearing sounds from under the roof tiles, and initially thought it might be a lizard, however it seems like it must be the rat (or rats). We can't function properly with rats in the house, so we need to take some simple precautions. We have started to make sure the doors are shut during the day, and that was the original intention of having 'stable' doors which split in two, so the bottom can be kept shut, with the top is open for air and light. Fabio has gone to Coja to buy some more rat traps, one for each room, and one for outside the kitchen door, we also need to keep the perimiter of the house free from weeds and clutter. All food is covered in the kitchen anyway, and we need to be careful with kitchen waste. The car did not start again this morning, so there is obviously still some unidentified problem. Fabio has arranged for someone to look at the spinner on Saturday morning at 9.00am. They don't have spinners in Portugal, so I am not sure what will be made of it. We tried out the LCD TV last night. The instructions are in very bad English, and not really intelligible, and the stand is wonky and does not sit stright. It doesn't work. We might be able to coax life out of it, and try a better ariel, but we want first to go up somewhere high and try it out before first. It runs off a car battery which was the attraction. It's dropped really cold, about nine degrees, and is raining on and off, so I am indoors doing some mending of clothes etc, with the gas heater on. The gas heater from Portugal is another thing thing that needs to be looked at. It does light, but the pilot ignition flame does not look as if it goes high enough to me, and it is not running out of gas. We have not tried to find someone who can repair gas heaters yet, but it would be a good thing to do.I have had a complete and proper wash, shave, and clip my har this morning. I do manage to keep clean, but it's not that comfortable washing in a bowl, and the shaving and hair clipping tend to get neglected. I feel much better for it, and am upstairs mending clothes and my bee gloves, listening to the Portuguese equivalent of radio three. We have had conversations about the mina. Sr Sergio said the only way to prevent the mina collapsing in the future would be to erect some props to ensure stones do not fall in. We might have to address that issue sometime next year. We could use some of the chestnut to do the job. It would be good to get advice from Sr Sergio. I have had a look from a distance, and it looks mostly stable, but there is a section that looks as if it could do with support at some point. The idea is to prop from the outside before doing anything to the interior.The trap by the kitchen door has caught the rat.

Thursday 22nd May

It's been Welsh holiday weather today, more the kind of day to go and visit slate mines with unpronounceable names, or pump storage schemes. It has been a day of mountain rain with intermittent sunshine, but mostly mountain rain. I like it, it's kind of comforting and very familiar. This part of Portugal goes quickly from Californian sunshine to Welsh holiday weather, and back again quickly. Today has been productive, the morning spent in Cortelha, burying the contents of the earth closet and the kitchen waste, plus the grass collected from the flat terrace, in the first growing bed. We have no conventional manure to dig in, but I am fairly sure what we have got will do the trick. I collected pine straw from the road, and added it as a final mulch, as I don't like bare soil exposed to the sun and rain. I think weeds will grow through but that is fine, the idea is to prepare the soil for next year. Nothing will be planted and dug up from there for four years (potatoes and root veg), the rest before will just be all above soil, so everything should be fully rotted down and safe by then. The afternoon has been spent high up in Cassaca, picking up the pieces of wood left over from where Sr Sergio cleared the undergrowth, and making big piles to burn in the future. There is so much wood for the fire.The other rat was caught last night in the bedroom, probably the female, and they had made a nest in the roof. I don't like killing wild animals. The problem seems to be over now, as we haven't caught any more, either in the bedroom, or outside, and we haven't seen any more either.

Monday 26th May

It is going to take a while to get used to the weather in the mountains. This morning it was six degrees, now just before ten it is fifteen degrees, the hottest so far has been about twenty six degrees. Temperatures fluctuate a lot. I think 'fresh' is the best way to describe things. Lots of sun, but jumpers are needed, and the gas heater is really useful occasionally. The climate here is particular, it is not the same in Coimbra, or even Coja. I would like to experience the valleys and coastal plain for a while before I go. What is special about Enxudro the peace. I think we might need to think more of England than the Algarve in terms of planting.The main news from the quinta over the last few days, after the drama of the rats died down is that we have got telly! Fabio went to Coja on Saturday to take the spinner to be mended and got provisions. I spent the morning in the higer terraces in Cassaca, contemplating what we could do with this newly uncovered land, and doing some raking. I spotted a Acor over the quinta, riding the air currents. There is often one on the top of Picotta, but this time it was hovering and swooping right over the quinta. After Fabio's return and a light lunch, we decided to try out the ariel he had bought. I had lost confidence in the LCD TV, but with some fiddling and connecting and experimenting, it worked, and we have got four Portuguese channels. I liked not having a TV, but it will be good for language learning. So far what has been on has been a disappointment, but we could check out what's on via the internet, and be selective. Friday was spent mostly picking up the wood on the high terraces in Cassaca and putting it into piles and raking the other debris. The wood can stay there for a year, until chopped for the fire. I really like this cleared land, and think it would probably be the best place possible for a log cabin, close enough to water, pines, and the first forest road. I saw a smooth snake up close whilst raking, there seem to be quite a few of them.On Sunday we had a much slower day, I planted some ginger in pots which has begun to sprout, buried the contents of the earth toilet in the first growing bed in Cortelha. It's buried half at about half a metre depth, the plots going to be a 'deep bed' and I have been doing some digging and forking over the bottom of the 'bastard trench'. It's topped off with pine straw mulch, and will only be planted with root crops in year four, so enough time for everything to decompose and become microbiolly safe. I made a bit more progress with the irrigation trench for the citrus, and erected one more frame (three more to go). We tried out the mobile phone, and internet connections around the quinta, and the signal is very good on the higher terraces of Cassaca. The internet is particularly good by the English corner, and here has the best views of the valley as well. We have long thought of having an 'internet hut', so this would be the ideal spot, the views are spectacular, so that's something to consider for the future.I think we need to sit and plan for the next few weeks, as we have not arranged the tickets back to the UK yet. I would like a long weekend break somewhere really, either Lisboa, or Figuera da Foz, and to experience a bit more of other parts of Portugal. Another reason to get out and about a bit is that I would really like to try out the bus from Benfieta, and the changes needed to get on the Transdev bus to Coimbra or Lisboa from Moita da Serra. It would be good to have this knowledge and experience, in terms of being a bit more independent. I think we need to consolidate what we have done so far, I feel like there are a number of half finished jobs, and we need to tie the loose ends together and make a plan for what we can achieve before we have to lock up and get a taxi back to England.

Tuesday 27th May

We have met the three main objecives of the day. I got up at five to make an early start, to prepare the food, and wash the clothes, and we were out working by nine. We have washed, wood preserved, and sited the remaining UBC water tanks. We have buried the toilet waste and made another section of the growing bed. We have laid a water pipe from the mina to the tank, and made the connections and fitted a regulating valve. We even squeezed in planting the two remaining marmelo trees by the spring on the first forest road in Cassaca. Tomorrow rain is forecast, but in the morning I hope to get the remaining tubes and connections I need to connect the water tank in Cortelha, and hopefully ultimately have a self regulating system that will also irrigate the citrus trees whilst we are away over the summer. In the afternoon I want to pack, as we are off on Thursday morning to Lisboa for five days for a break and the beach, a bit of culture and clubbing. I am looking forward to a rest from quinta work, and the weather forecast for the weekend is good.

Wednesday 4th June

Five days in Lisboa has been fantastic. I love the city. The weather has been fine, and it is warmer and better weather than the quinta. The vegetation changes as the journey progresses from the mountains here in central Portugal, to the coast and the estuary of the Rio Tejo. There are less maritime pines, and more stone pines, more eucalyptus (presumably planted), there is also a mountain vegetation type I would like to find out a bit more about with short trees, and also cork oak with grazing underneath. Lisboa is a fine city, and all I can say is getting there I feel like I have 'arrived', in life as on the journey. The architecture is fine, it's just about a perfect size for a capital city, with everything within walkable distance and to a comfortable scale. We visited the Parque das Nacoes, and took the cable car with great views across the Tejo estuary and the Ponte Vasco da Gama. Saturday was the beach, on the ferry boat from Cais do Sodre, and a bus ride to Costa da Caparica, where we walked for miles and miles along the sandy beach in the sun. On sunday we spent the day in Belem, visited the Torre de Belem, the tropical gardens, the museum of modern art, and on Monday a long walk around the Alfama, Mouraria, to Praca Marques de Pombal, Rato, Principe Real, and Bairro Alto to the hotel, and to Comercio and Cais do Sodre in the evening. I think Lisboa will be a gateway for me to learn Portuguese. I want to build on what I have learnt so far, but want to learn to speak properly. I think I have also realised that I love the solitude and peace that the quinta gives, but also I need the vibrant atmosphere in a city sometimes. Coming back to the quinta, it has been cold, but the clouds have lifted now. It is fine, but there is a lot to do. We have had a walk round and a discussion, and there is a lot to do! I am longing for a bit more comfort in the quinta (for example a bathroom). In terms of how we plan what we plant, and what we do with the rest, we have decided we need just to concentrate on the terraces immediately surrounding Cassaca, and Cortelha, and work to get them in a productive state, which is going to take a while yet. No need to clear any more terraces for now, we just need to have a credible plan to manage what we have uncovered so far, hopefully just strimming once a year. The water has stopped flowing into Mario's tank, but I think I can see what the problem is. We were able to go round what we have planted now and pick enough food for a fantastic salad, including ginja (wild cherries) and wild strawberries. We have decided to give room and space to these things which are productive already (the wild strawberries we can plant out for example) and the ginja trees we can let grow and give space and room to. The fruit of both is fine and full of flavour and perfectly adapted to the environment. Lots of work to do yet, but they are both fabulous quintas, so we just have to carry on.

Thursday 5th Juine 2014

Carina has got a new bobina (I think), or at least new brushes and a new solenoid in the starter motor, and fingers crossed as this is the most that can be done regards the problems starting the car. So far it has started very well, so hopefully the problem is fixed. We picked the car up on the way back from Lisboa from Sr Fernando's garage in Casal de Sao Joao, after getting a lift by taxi from Sr Luis from the bus stop in Moita da Serra, where the bus from Sete Rios in Lisboa stops.We took the car out yesterday evening for a short ride in the top of the mountains, after working on the quinta. I started the first strimming I have done this year on the terrace below the flat terrace on Cortelha, and got about one third of the way across. The grass is taller that I am now, so not that easy to strim. We took the road past Picotta, as I wanted to try and get a close look at one of the wind turbines that are behind the mountain peak. They are quite noisy, they are big, and the blades wobble quite a bit which is un-nerving if you are underneath. There is a very faint intermittent low piched hum that can be heard at night sometimes in Cassaca, and after thinking what it could be, I think it is probably some very low-pitched sound interference pattern from the wind turbines, which reverberates in the valley. Today Fabio went to Arganil to get provisions and supplies, including some pipe attachments, and covers to keep the sun off the water tanks. Unfortunately the water was not running down the pipe when we got back from Lisboa, but I have fitted an attachment which should let much less air in, and after blowing down the pipe, the flow now seems to be better. I raked the grass from the strimming on Cortelha, which has effectively made hay, which has dried in a day in the hot sun, and stated a second growing bed on Cortelha, where I plan to bury the grass cut from the whole of the below terrace, with a compost starter. I hope that it will have rotted down and formed compost by the time I plan to do some planting next March. Today has been blissfull, hot and sunny with some mixed high and low cloud. It has been good to work outdoors, and I have got slightly sunburnt despite wearing factor 50 sun block. The outdoor work, the sun, and the food with lots of salads from the garden and bountiful fruits and vegetables really do make me very happy.

Saturday 7th June

The water connection from the mina seems to be working better now, since we got a proper air-tight connector. The sound of the water in Mario's big tank, and in the tank by the verndah acts a a really useful indicator of how the system is doing. We have filled up the final three big UBC tanks today, so Mario's tank is a bit lower than usual, so there is quite a loud sound from that tank, like filling a bath, the lower the water in the tank the louder and deeper the sound. As that tank is not full, there is not the reassuring tinkle from the tank by the verandah, to let us know that all is well, and the big tank is full, and is overflowing into the smaller tank.We seem to be very busy with long days. Yesterday was less productive, as there were periods of rain. Today has been dry with intermittent cloud. The mountain weather has taken some getting used to, and I went through a period of being a bit dissappointed with it, but I feel fine with it now. Sometimes it is Welsh holiday weather, and sometimes Californian, and I think it is actually a really good balance for me, as it is a bit cooler in the summer, and there seems to be plenty of rain and water about this year to keep all the plants growing very comfortably with no effort. We seem to have full days, as there is always washing of clothes to do (better to just do it every day, rather than let it build up), and cooking for the day, including making things from scratch like tortillas which all takes time. I enjoy the fact that the taste is four hundred percent better and the cost minimal, so don't mind doing it, but we need to factor into the working day the time for everything that needs to be done in the house, so we don't seem to emerge for quinta work until after an early lunch, then we work til about seven in the evening. This evening we have a fabulous gnocci with fresh tomato and herb sauce, so I will not write any more, and go and enjoy it.

Wednesday11th June

We have spent the last few days completing jobs that have been left incomplete, and tidying up. The UBC tanks have all been covered to keep out the sun, apart from thee overflow tank by the verandah. The terrace by the house has been strimmed and tidied. Progress has been made digging the vegetable beds on Cortelha. However the main job for the week has been the land drain above Cassaca, which is coming along nicely, and should hopefully be completed before we leave. Lots of progress has been made clearing the fire zone, but it is not all completed yet. We have a long spell of sun forecast, and today seems to be the first day of the Portuguese summer, and the sun is hot! I have also run out of suncream. so will need to get some for the last weeks before returning to England. Not a cloud in the sky all day, deep blue, and now a full moon over the valley, with crickets chirping and frogs singing in the moonlight, and many more days like today to come.

Friday 13th June

Summer started with a strong warm wind on Wednesday morning. I'm not sure where this wind comes from originally, but it seemed to come from the south west. I had forgotten about the strong winds that sometimes occur high in the mountains here. Prior to this it was cold at night, so cold that we needed occasionally to light the gas fire in the evening. Now it is very warm at night, and it is hot during the day, certainly above thirty degrees around lunchtime. It's too hot for me to work during the day, and I need to get used to the heat. The forecast is for more sun over the weekend and at the start of next week, however cooling with some rain towards the end of the week. I'm fine padding around the house, and the kitchen and particularly the cave room are very comfortable during the hot weather. I have finished the land drain and tested it and it seems to work. There are just a few refinements that it would be good to make. However I am going to have to re-plan our work schedule, and make time in the evening, and early mornings to do some work outdoors. The mosquitos have bitten my feet, which is annoying. It's going to take a while to get used to the environment, and to tailor work outdoors and clothing to local circumstances and comfort.

Saturday 14th June

We have come to the cafe in Benfeita this evening, there aren't that many people here, but those that are are half heartedly watching the football. Today has been hot, without a single cloud in the sky. I'm not sure what the temperature has been, but it's comfortable enough in the house during the day (less than 30 degrees). Outside I think it's more than 30 degrees, but less than 37 degrees. I tried the thermometer in direct sun, and it was greater than 52 degrees, then stopped working. It's hot! I got up at five thirty this morning, to do some work from six until nine, and then spent the time untill one cooking and doing house jobs. We had very nice mexican food. I kept the upstairs of the house dark, with the shutters closed, and also the windows closed to keep the warm air out, and it was comfortable, and I slept for a couple of hours, then worked from about four until seven. It's going to take a while to get used to trying to organise things around the temperature during the day. It's too hot for me to work outdoors, especially as clothes are needed to protect your skin, and mosquito bites on your feet and hot wellies are not a good mix.We have a glow worm! It has been around the tank for two nights, maybe it likes the solar lights or something. It looks a bit like a small LED light, the same kind of colour and quality of light.Soon I think I will slowly start packing and organising things for the return to England. Unfortunately what has not been done, just will just have to remain undone for now. I will ensure all the important things are completed before we leave.I will probably leave the windows open again tonight, to allow the cool air into the house, to keep the upstairs cool. I slept ok last night, apart from the mild anxiety of having all the windows open.

Monday 16th June

Things seem to be working out a bit better with the heat. I have been getting up early, trying to work from about six to nine in the morning, and then from about four or five in the afternoon onwards, with a sleep for about three hours in the afternoon, with the shutters closed. It helps to catch up with sleep, as night time sleep is difficult when it is hot. I think a better solution would be to have screens we can fit to the windows with mosquito nets to stop any insects, lizards or rodents getting in at night, so the building could lose the heat from the day to the cool of the night. Nevertheless, by luck and judgement the building is really good at coping with the heat, and so is the quinta, so a blessing in the end all round.I worked a bit longer after breakfast this morning, and the factor fifty sun block worked well everywhere, apart from the creases of my elbows which have got a bit burnt, so they have lots of calamine lotion on. The mosquito bites have not got inflamed this time, and the calamine lotion on them has helped.I am trying to get the vegetable beds on Cortelha completed before we leave. The one with the toilet waste buried is almost complete, and will be finished before we leave. The second bed is complete. The third bed, the one I have been working on this morning, is over two thirds complete, and should be finished by the end of today. I hope to get the final fourth bed done before we go. I have been buring everything from the strimming, together with the upturned turf, and the kitchen waste vegetable peelings etc, together with whatever compost activator we have got left. I have compressed this extra matter to about a spade's depth, and then put the soil on top. I am hoping this will work to enrich the soil, as we haven't got anything else at the moment.The strimming is not good for Fabio's hay fever, and I am certain the dry soil gets in the air because it makes us both cough. We might just try and make sure the path to the village is clear on Cortelha, and strim the rest later in the year. I don't really like strimming, but one way to look at it is to make compost for the vegetables, so a good way to get benefit from land we aren't really using at all at the moment.The six bed rotation should work. Bed one is for beans, sweetcorn, pumpkins. The second is for beans and other pulses. The third is for potatoes, tomatoes, onions and other root cops. The fourth is for year one of cabbages and turnips. The fifth will be for year two of cabages and other miscelaneous crops. The sixth and final bed is to be re-built and re-dug, and enriched with the toilet waste, and clippings from strimming etc over the year, hopefully to quite a depth, so each bed gets bigger and bigger as time goes by. The whole cycle then rotates over six years, so each bed gets a chance to grow different crops. We will use the same technique to build permanent beds for soft fruits and herbs, burying toilet waste and clippings from strimming a year prior to planting. The idea then will be to add compost to the tops of the beds as we plant, and to add a mulch of pine straw on the top, which can be removed temporarily to allow planting, but which protects the soil and keeps the moisture in. So composting will need to become a major activity with space devoted to it close to where we are growing the food. Other things like lettuces, extra onions etc, will have to be slotted in gaps as we go, however keeping to the rule that no root veg are grown in beds until the potatoe stage (year four after building the bed with toilet waste previously).I decided to start giving the citrus a good soak with water before we go. I have connected the pipe from the mina, and the plan is to run it continuously in the trench dug at the top of the bed, to soak all the soil. I'll just leave the water running day and night. The technique seems to be working. The idea then will be to continue the trench along the top of the terrace, as originally designed, and pipe in water form the barroco, which can flow and create a kind of stream or ditch along the whole top of the terrace, and this should ensure all of the soil is kept irrigated for as long as the water is running. The mina seems to be doing really well so far, so hopefully the beds could remain irrigated throughout the dry summer, until the rains re-start. I doubt if there will be excess water, but if so, it can be channelled to run down the other side of Cortelha, and it will eventually soak into the soil. It will not be a problem in the winter, as we will disconnect the water flow during the winter months.The final part of the project will be to use the existing xisto walls, and fence off any gaps so the javali can not get in. Hopefully then the beds will eventually be relatively maintenance free, and we can just plant up the beds, and enrich them with compost and weed them as and when we get the chance. There will probably not be enough room to grow all the food we need using this system, there will probably be a need for extra corn, beans, tomatoes and potatoes, and we would like to grow some small scale grain crops in the future. But there is plenty of land on the lower slopes of Cortelha, and all the extra areas we have designated for growing food on Cassaca, so space is not an issue, just irrigation and defending the crops from the pigs.Other pests have not been too much of a problem so far. We tried some more exotic cabbages, which got eaten by some caterpillars, but the regular cabbages they grow in Portugal seem to be very hardy and unaffected. There are some massive Darth-Vader slugs, however there is also intense sun and lots of lizards, and I think the dryness and heat eventually kills them off. There are so many different insects, that it would take years to learn about them all, however whatever seems to be eating something, soon seems to be eaten by something else. The citrus for example have lots of insects that look like they are eating the flowers, however they now have lots of baby oranges, so whatever was there has not done too much harm. We are hoping that with diverse and mixed planting in various locations, there should at least be something somewhere we can eat. The aim will be to go for a walk with a basket or bowl and hopefully to come back with fruit and vegetables to eat for the day, or if not much, at least have something in store in the cave room, or probably in the future in the animal shed on Cortelha after it has been renovated. It will make a change from going to Lidl!

Wednesday 18th June

The weather forecast was right, and yesterday was the last predicted day of clear blue skies and the heatwave, so we decided to have a day out in the mountains whilst the weather was still fine. We drove up from the quinta and followed the signs to Piodao, following routes around the mountains with spectacular views to the valley of the Mondego river and to the Serra da Estrella. Piodao is situated at the end of a valley, and is a well preserved xisto village which is regularly visited by tourists. We had a walk around the village, which has very narrow paths dividing the xisto houses, only a few of which have been cement rendered and painted white. There are water courses running through the village, with little sluices to divert the water down different channels, and the fast flowing mountain streams keep the village cool and pleasant. We had lunch and visited the museum. We have become familiar with some of the tools and implements used until very recently in the area, and I have some of the tools for making spoons and barrels and wine making equipment in Cortelha, and a large chestnut bowl for kneading dough, all of which we found in the museum as well. There were also some bee hives like Donna Hilda's make of cork. I think we will become much more familiar with these things as times passes at the quinta. The wine making equipment in particular, and bee-keeping equipment are two things I would like to become more familiar with. There was a very good model of a typical xisto house in the museum. Much of all of this can be found in Enxudro, and in all of the villages around. In the afternoon, we drove from Piodao to Foz d'Egua. Most of he houses seem to be holiday homes, and locked up. There are two remarkable stone bridges, and we wondered whether they originally had some cement to hold them together, as they are just made from uncut xisto. Cement has been added recently, but could have been part of the original construction. The line of one of the arches has a definte wobble, so something must be holding it all together. The river beach looked as if it could be good, but the sluices had not been put in place, and the water was not that deep. We decided to drive back, and took a different route to Monte Frio, through the Mata da Margaraca and past the spot where we broke down recently, through Pardieros to Fraga da Pena. We took shorts and had a dip in the water, but it was icy mountain water, and too cold for full immersion. Just as we were about to change back out of our swimshorts, a coach party turned up taking photos, so we hung around until they had left before changing to go hosme. On the way home we saw Sr Sergio and Donna Graca outside their house, and Fabio asked Sr Sergio about an abandoned cement sink on the way into Enxudro we have noticed. He said he has three of them and we went to have a look at the back of his house to choose one. He came later on his quad bike and dropped it off and spent a long time with Fabio talking about the changes in Enxudro. It seems there has been a big drop in the number of people in the village in a very short period, everyone has just gone away for different reasons. What was once a thriving rural economy has become displaced completely, and the reamaining people feel lucky to have found work in the local area to allow them to continue to live here. Sr Sergio said again that people are glad we are here, and a happy with the work we are doing in the quinta, so that is good.Today I decided to at least try for one day to cook with food from the quinta, and prepared a great meal from things which have grown in the short time we have had to plant and prepare growing space. We spent the afternoon picking fruit in the quinta, not so many wild strawberries, but some cherries from Cortelha, and a large bowl of ginja (wild cherries) which I have bottled this afternoon in syrup. We want to do some bottling of fruit in September or October this year, as there should be plenty available at that time of year to ensure we have got bottled fruit for the year ahead, especially for the first half of the year when fruit is scarce. Hopefully sometime soon we should have nesperas and citrus, and some early strawberries in a greenhouse, which effectively would mean fruit for most of the year of some sort. We can also dry pears, figs and grapes in the future, and dried fruit from the local area can be found quite easily in the market in Arganil, where people sell thier local produce, as well a stallholders selling produce from further afield in the main market. I really like this local food sold by local people, and there is a particular lady who we have got to know who doesn't use any chemicals, and we like to buy from her whenever we go to the market. You can tell she really doesn't use any chemicals because the vegetables are knobbly, mishapen, but also smell good and taste good, and keep very well. The weather has cooled down today, with moist air and cloud this evening, however the mosquitos are back (the very hot dry weather seemed to keep them at bay for a while) so we have ensured as much of our skin as possible is covered. Fabio swatted a mosquito on the wall yesterday, and there was a large patch of red blood, so obviously it had just fed on blood from one of us. I wondered if that is it for a mosquito, do they just have the one meal, and then reproduce and die (no, surely not as they can be a vector for blood borne disease)? Also there seemed to be quite a lot of blood (although blood spills always look like more blood than there is in reality). It seemed as if it would keep a small insect alive for quite a long time, like a lifetime. I need to find out a bit more about the life-cycle of mosquitos.

Thursday 19th June

Today has been the last chance to go to the market in Arganil. It's been cold and cloudy and very much reminded me of being in England, a welcome respite from heat, however not from mosquitos which have been more troublesome than ever in the moist dampness. We have noticed that some people do have flyscreens over some of their windows, and bead curtains across external doors, and we are going to make this a priority at Eira dos Vales, and get some frames covered with mosquito nets to slot in over the summer. They can just be left in place, and will stop rodents, lizards, and flies and mosquitos, and we can leave windows open whenever needed to ensure rooms are kept cool and well aired. For now calamine cream, and long trousers and hooded tops, with socks (and maybe even gloves) are a good idea. The full solution would be something like a bee suit, but would just be inconvenient.Arganil market was fairly busy, and they do have some great things on offer, three hens for ten euros, we bought lots of fruit, sold by the kilo, mostly for one euro a kilo. We bough lots of nespeiras (which I have never seen in England), from Donna Amelia, she who uses no chemicals, some lovely plums, and some oranges and peaches from various other stallholders in the local section. We also bought some olives and some of Donna Amelia's eggs. All of this produce came from local people, who go to the market I guess to suplement their income and sell their excess produce. I like this way of supplying people's needs, to my mind everybody wins, it's cheaper food and better quality that has not been transported far, and the money stays with local people.This afternoon I decided to pack my bags, which is mostly completed. I wanted to get that job done, before I focus on finishing what can be done before leaving the quinta. There is a lot to do on Cortelha, but as ever, I guess things will be left undone, however I think Eira dos Vales will always be a project with something left to complete. We can live with incompleteness. I decided to bottle some of the nespeiras, as we have too many to eat in one go, and a few other fruits, to add to the wild cherries I bottled yesterday. There is a two week supply of fruit now for winter months, I was hoping to use the syrup in place of squash to flavour water to drink during the winter. We just need to find some more fruit and enough jars to cover the other twenty three weeks when there is not likely to be much fruit about, at least for now whilst things get established, a job for this autumn. There should be more sun, then rain is forecast over the next few days, so the priority for tomorrow will be to get things done before the rain starts.

Sunday 22nd June

The rain forecast has come this afternoon. It's quite comforting being in Cassaca in the mointains in the rain, now things are more organised, there is plenty of electricity and it is warm. Picotta is covered in mist, however the valley is clear, at least for now. I am quite glad to have a rest, as we have been busy over the last few days. I finally reached Tapadinha today with the strimmer, and finished clearing the path from Cassaca to the village. Sr Sergio has also been doing some strimming in the village today, so I think all the paths should be clear now for the summer. We moved the cement sink into the verandah this afternoon, and connected the drain outlet to Mario's channel and to the tap in the verandah with a length of hose pipe. I mended the leg of the sink on Friday with a mortar of half cement and half fine sand (as it got broken when Sr Sergio moved it), and chicken wire to strengthen the joint. It looks fine and seems stable. We also completed the final part of the land drain above Cassaca on Friday, and confirmed yesterday that the water was flowing the right way, as we had some rain in the afternoon as well. We have completed the strimming and raking on Cassaca and the top two terraces of Cortelha, and made big compost heaps around both quintas. The growing beds dug so far have nearly been completed with their final layer of pine straw mulch to protect the soil and keep the moisture in. Sr Mario called by yesterday, just to say hello. I completely forget to speak or try to speak Portuguese sometimes, I really need to try and remember to do it. On the last Saturday night of the trip we decided to go to Arganil for a pizza. Up til yesterday I hadn't been in Arganil in the evening, only usually on market day in the mornings. The atmosphere is very much different, and it was a warm evening, despite the possibility of rain. They have very elegant black street lamps in Portugal, like lanterns on the side of buildings. We weren't sure whether there were swallows of bats swooping around the roof tops. There were also quite afew people in the cafe, and there is also a small bar. Alcohol is served in the cafe, but it seems to be more for general socialising than for drinking alcohol. We had iced tea with our pizza, and ordered a second as we were both hungry, and also had ice cream. On the way back home we had a moment of panic, as the car headlights went out, but figured it was probably Fabio pressing the wrong buttons rather than Carina's electrics failing. It was quite a long drive up into the mountains in the dark, and we realised how high up and remote we are here in the quinta. The mist has come down now, and we are completely in the clouds again. I find it all this mountain rain and mist quite comforting now we have had some hot sun.I took a walk to Tapadinha this evening, to have a final look. The mosquitos were out with a vengence. I was doing a bit of work outdoors, watering the citrus finally before we leave, and one bit the back of my hand which has swollen quite a lot. I had taken precautions anyway, but made sure I was completely covered head to toe, with bee gloves on as well. The only thing showing was my face, and I would consider some sort of mask if needed. Whilst returning on the path from the village, by Cortelha pond, I heard the pigs quite close by in the undergrowth in the adjoining quinta. I think I did everything wrong as I made a bit of a noise to make sure they knew I was there, and ran to the flat terrace to get out of the way. What I should have done was stay quiet and fairly still, especially if it was a female with young. However I have heard Sr Francisco yelling to scare them off in the village, from the cement bridge by Tapadinha. We need to complete the pig fence. We need to have some sort of co-existance with the javali but we also need to grow our food without disturbance. It's quite exciting, but all a bit strange as well.

Monday 23rd

More rain again today, and this afternoon a thunderstorm. I woke early this morning, and did some work in Cortelha, no sign of the pigs. I like the new cement sink to wash clothes, although care is needed not to put too much water at once down the overflow, as it is not properly plumbed in yet. Our cement washing machine will never go wrong, does not need insurance, and keeps you fit all in one! I cooked a nice lunch but further work has been delayed by the rain. Fabio has used the strimmer with a cord to cut around the stones in the path to the village . Not much time left before we leave now, but most thngs are complete.Those things not complete can be finished when we return.

Tuesday 24th June

We have been calmly preparing the quintas to leave for England. I am enjoying the new cement sink washing machine, and washed a lot of clothes and bedding this morning. I also spent time sorting out some things in Cortelha. We have eaten very well today. There has been some more thunder, but the thunderstorm yesterday was bigger, and apparently has disrupted some electrical equipment in the valley. This evening we decided to head for Fajao looking for a cafe. We went deep into forested valleys, past craggy mountains, and after a long drive realised there was no cafe in Fajao despite the signpost. The drive was interesting however, a different landscape. We ended up in Arganil, and went to a different cafe for a snack. The town looks good at night, and we discover new life everytime we go, this evening we found a cocktail and tapas bar, and a nightclub! Tomorrow is the last day, so plenty of last minute jobs to sort out, and hopefully not too much rain.

Wednesday 25th June

The final day in the quinta has been misty and melancholic, misty all day, and impossible to dry the washing. We have finished unfinshed jobs, and the car has been wrapped like a parcel in a green tarpaulin and string. We have emptied and washed out the tank by the house that had started to go a bit green, and refilled and covered it after cleaning it with detergent. It has been topped up with some bleach to keep the water fresh over the hot summer and covered with a protective green mesh from the sun. I have had a good look in the main water tank, and the water there is completely clear, so the double tarpaulins have worked to keep out the light and keep the water fresh. I have been playing the recorder, and have become familiar with the fingering up to top B natural, but can't figure out a C natural. The echo from the mountain is fine.

Friday 27th June

We have arrived in Coimbra, and despite rain and cloud forecast, its a perfectly blue sky I can see from the hotel balcony. Sr Bruno drove us to Moita da Serra yesterday and we got there just in time to catch the bus to Coimbra which arrived before we got there. We spent the morning doing the last few things necessary. The major achievement of the morning was setting up some irrigation for the vegetables planted by Fabio. We laid the big black pipe connected to the mina along the vegetable patch, put a cork in the end, and drilled very small holes along the length of the pipe. There is quite a bit of pressure in the system, and the first hole made a big fountain shooting high into the air. We have long talked of having a fountain by the big white stone at the entrance to the quinta, and it looks as if this would be possible. It could flow for as long as the mina is flowing. Last night we walked around Coimbra in the evening. I have got a bad impression of the city before, being lost in traffic, the bus station and that part of the city is grim, the narrow streets at the base of the old city, all about Coimbra previously has been about complications and problems. However yesterday evening we walked over the river, explored the university area, and down to the Praca da Repuplica and past the market, and had a great time. There are some very fine buildings. The city and the university have a very long history. We were very hungry not having eaten much, and had a huge pizza which was not the best, and an ice cream, which was not the best either, so I hope we find better food today. We are having breakfast, then off out to explore all the university, the market and the tropical gardens, and the weather looks as if it will be good for our last day in Portugal....

Today has been a fine day in Coimbra. So many things we have seen, it is hard to know where to begin to describe them all. First the architecture. There are so many fine buildings in Coimbra, in various states of repair and decay. Second, the University, which is on a hill in the centre of the city overlooking the Mondego river. The churches, ancient and baroque. The winding streets of the old city. The old shops and old habits. The riverside, and parks.We started the day walking through the centre of the old city to the market, where we bought some arbrunhos (plums) which we apparently have in the quinta as well. We took an elevator and funicular up to the University, aiming for the Joanine Library. We visited Se Nova which is a very baroque basillica decorated with much gold leaf, then to the Se Velha, an old romanesque fort-like church with a fine cloister. There were university students in academic dress singing and playing music outside in the square. Then to the University, the very ornate Joanine Library, the chapel of Sao Miguel, the prison, and other formal rooms within the university. In the evening we went to the river to eat and walked through the park, and visited the ruins of the Santa Clara monastery. The weather has been very good with clear skies and some cloud.I am quite taken with the city and have changed my impression. It is quite a serious place, but with space for leisure and pleasure. There seems to be a great deal going on culturally centered around the University. It is full of young people in an ancient environment, much like Oxford or Cambridge. I would like to spend more time here in the future, I have found out that they do a Portuguese course for foreigners, which is very affordable and there could not be a better place to study. It would fit well into my future plans.Much to think about as we pack our bags and prepare to head back to England tomorrow.